Liner for a refuse bag

ABSTRACT

A rigid refuse bag liner for insertion into a yard refuse bag for supporting the yard refuse bag in an open condition. The rigid yard refuse bag liner is an elongated enclosure having an open bottom and having a tapered construction such that its bottom portion is wider than its top portion, which facilitates the removal of the rigid liner once the refuse bag liner/refuse bag are filled with yard refuse. To further facilitate this removal, air vents running through the enclosure permit the passage of air as the rigid liner is lifted upward, out of the yard bag. A compactor is associated with the rigid liner whereby the compactor is a planar surface coupled to a handle that the user can grasp and apply pressure to in order to compact the yard refuse that has already been collected. The rigid refuse bag liner can be inserted into a yard refuse bag and that combination can then be used on a bagger attachment device coupled to a riding lawn mower for automatically collecting grass cuttings therein. Also, the filled liner/yard refuse bag can be wheeled to a trash pick-up location using a cart.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application of, and claims thebenefit under 35 U.S.C. §120 of, application Ser. No. 10/449,346 filedon May 30, 2003 entitled RIGID LINER FOR A REFUSE BAG, and whose entiredisclosure is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to devices for supporting trash bags duringfilling, and more particularly, to devices for filling yard refuse bagsfor re-cycling purposes.

2. Description of Related Art

Many townships require residents to separate yard refuse from othertrash that is set out for scheduled pick-up by placing the yard refusein specially-designated yard refuse bags. These yard refuse bags consistof heavy paper and are rectangular in shape, much like a large shoppingbag.

However, in order to fill these bags many problems occur. For example,since the yard refuse bag consists of paper, there is no support, otherthan the heavy paper structure to maintain in it an open position. Inaddition, when the person begins filling the bag and attempts to compactthe collected contents, the shape of the bag becomes distorted, causingit to fall over and/or causing any compacted twigs, branches, etc. totear or rip the bag during the filling. If the user wants to avoid this,the user may simply not fill the entire bag, but rather just obtainanother bag, thereby not getting the full use of the yard refuse bagwhich is wasteful.

The following patents are examples of attempts to solve some of theabove problems but suffer from one or more other problems discussedbelow.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,890,652/4,979,547/(Hoerner) disclose a collapsibletrash bag support sleeve. However, the sleeve suffers from a number ofproblems such as failure to retain a rectangular shape during filling,thereby stressing the bag which tends to rip it. Furthermore, the trashbag's upper portion must be secured in anchoring slits that tend to ripthe trash bag during filling. In addition, despite the use of firmpanels, the overall sleeve may tend to twist and deform; this distortionnot only makes it difficult to release the sleeve from the trash bag(once the bag is filled), but it also tends to rip/tear the trash bag.In addition, the use of adhesives, or other closure means, to form therectangular sleeve tends to wear after much use, which furtheraggravates the tendency to distort the sleeve shape. Should the closuremeans disengage, the yard refuse is then exposed to the trash bag,thereby defeating the purpose of the sleeve. See also U.S. Pat. No.4,037,778 (Boyle); U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,084 (Judge).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,022 (Reifers) discloses a device for loading trashbags. However, this device is meant for particular use with aconventional plastic trash bag and would, most likely, tear or rip ayard refuse bag due to the latter's rectangular construction and the bagengagement mechanism at the top of the device. Furthermore, the devicerequires that the user frequently lift the device/bag as it is filled indifferent stages in order to force collected yard refuse down inside thebag.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,561 (O'Leary et al.) discloses a support for aflexible container. However, this support suffers from, among otherthings, a slit that can expose the refuse to the trash bag directly. Inaddition, this support is designed for a small, in-house trashcontainer, not a large yard refuse bag.

Other trash bag support devices are shown in the following U.S. patents,namely, U.S. Pat. No. 576,782 (Goodrich); U.S. Pat. No. 579,228 (Frame);U.S. Pat. No. 645,544 (Bissell); U.S. Pat. No. 1,668,053 (Dawson); U.S.Pat. No. 2,172,529 (Barker et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,524 (Jerpbak);U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,087 (Alexander); U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,081(Hawkinson); U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,011 (Rylander); U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,533(Dieter); U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,982 (Cooke); U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,292(Beckham); U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,965 (Aulabaugh); U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,609(Tobin); U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,125 (Caveney); U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,554(Dauphinais); U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,589 (Belous); U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,060(Hodgon et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,022 (Palumbo); U.S. Pat. No.5,593,117 (Alexander, III); U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,033 (Gibson).

However, none of these references appear to teach or suggest the use ofa rigid liner inside a yard refuse bag that not only prevents thetearing/ripping of the yard bag during filling, but remains stablethroughout the filling and removal operation, while providing featuresthat facilitate the removal of the liner from the yard refuse bag afterfilling.

All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An apparatus for facilitating the collection of grass cuttings from ariding lawn mower into a yard refuse bag. The apparatus comprises: anelongated rigid enclosure having an open bottom and open top, whereinthe elongated rigid enclosure comprises sides and a plurality of airvents, and wherein each of the air vents forms a passageway contained ina corner joining two adjacent sides or contained in a side. Thepassageway has an opening disposed in the open top and an openingdisposed in the open bottom of the elongated rigid enclosure. Theapparatus is adapted to be positioned inside the yard refuse bag and forsupporting the yard refuse bag along its length during filling; and abagger attachment device that is moved by the riding lawn mower andincludes: a support surface coupled to the riding lawn mower forsupporting the elongated rigid enclosure inside the yard refuse bag; anda plenum having a first end that couples to a grass shoot in the ridinglawn mower and a second end coupled to a cover that passes the grasscuttings into the open top of the enclosure.

An apparatus for facilitating the collection of yard refuse (e.g., grasscuttings, dry leaves, twigs, branches, trimmed shrubbery, or any otherwaste designated by local ordinances to be “yard waste sufficient forre-cycling”) into a yard refuse bag. The apparatus comprises: anelongated rigid enclosure having an open bottom and open top, whereinthe elongated rigid enclosure comprises sides and a plurality of airvents, and wherein each of the air vents forming a passageway containedin a corner joining two adjacent sides or contained in a side. Thepassageway has an opening disposed in the open top and an openingdisposed in the open bottom of the elongated rigid enclosure. Theapparatus is adapted to be positioned inside the yard refuse bag and forsupporting the yard refuse bag along its length during filling; and acart for holding at least one elongated rigid enclosure/yard refuse bagcombination that is filled with yard refuse. The cart permits a user tomove the filled enclosure/yard refuse bag combination to recyclabletrash pick-up location.

A method for facilitating the collection of grass cuttings from a ridinglawn mower into a recyclable yard refuse bag, said method comprising thesteps of: (a) disposing an elongated rigid enclosure having an openbottom and open top inside the recyclable yard refuse bag to form anassembly; (b) positioning the assembly on a bagger attachment devicethat is coupled to the riding lawn mower; (c) directing the grasscuttings from the grass shoot of the riding lawn mower into the open topof the enclosure; and (d) removing said enclosure from the recyclableyard refuse bag once the bag is filled.

An apparatus for facilitating the collection of yard refuse (e.g., grasscuttings, dry leaves, twigs, branches, trimmed shrubbery, or any otherwaste designated by local ordinances to be “yard waste sufficient forre-cycling”) into a yard refuse bag. The apparatus comprises anelongated-rigid enclosure having an open bottom and open top, whereinthe elongated rigid enclosure comprises sides and a plurality of airvents, and wherein each of the air vents forms a passageway contained ina corner joining two adjacent sides or contained in a side. Thepassageway has an opening disposed in the open top and an openingdisposed in the open bottom of the elongated rigid enclosure. Theapparatus is adapted to be positioned inside the yard refuse bag and forsupporting the yard refuse bag along its length during filling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in conjunction with the followingdrawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements andwherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing the rigid yard bag liner and amanual compactor;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view showing the rigid yard bag liner partiallydisposed inside a yard refuse bag;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the rigid yard bag liner and yardbag taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the rigid yard bag liner and yardbag taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 depicts a bagger device attachment to a lawn tractor (shownpartially)using, in plurality, the apparatus of the present inventionwhich is shown partially-broken away; and

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of refuse cart showing two already-filledrefuse bags and one refuse still containing the apparatus of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be illustrated in more detail with reference to thefollowing Examples, but it should be understood that the presentinvention is not deemed to be limited thereto.

Referring now in detail to the various figures of the drawing whereinlike reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown at 20, arigid yard refuse bag liner for use with a yard refuse bag to facilitatethe collection of yard refuse (e.g., dry leaves, twigs, branches,trimmed shrubbery, or any other waste designated by local ordinances tobe “yard waste sufficient for re-cycling”) into a yard refuse bag 22.

The liner 20 comprises a rigid elongated enclosure 24 comprising aone-piece molded construction (e.g., using a plastic-injected one-piecemolding or blow molding machine), of any durable material, e.g.,polyethylene, PVC (poly vinyl chloride) including polymers, otherplastic materials including re-cyclable plastics and other plasticcompounds. The enclosure 24 has no bottom surface (see FIG. 4) in orderto permit the liner 20 to be removed from the yard refuse bag 22, oncethe enclosure 24/yard refuse bag 22 is filled up. The enclosure 24 alsohas an open top 21.

It should be understood that the term “rigid” as used in this patentapplication defines that the enclosure is of a non-collapsableconstruction, i.e., it cannot be disassembled and/or folded up.

To facilitate the removal of the liner 20 once the enclosure 24/yardrefuse bag 22 are filled up, the enclosure 24 comprises a taperedconstruction, i.e., the bottom portion 26 is wider than the top portion28, with reference to a longitudinal axis 25, FIG. 3. In particular,once the enclosure 24/yard refuse bag 22 is filled up, as the user pullsthe enclosure 24 upward using any pair of handles 30A/30B or 32A/32B outof the yard bag 22, the bottom portion 26 of the enclosure is able toslide over the yard refuse (not shown), thereby releasing it into thelower portion 34 of the yard bag 22, while forcing yard refuse in theupper portion 28 of the enclosure 24 downward through the enclosure 24and finally out into the yard bag 22. In addition, the taperedconstruction of the enclosure 24 also stabilizes the enclosure 24/yardbag 22 by providing a lower portion 26 base that is wider than the topportion 28.

To further facilitate the removal of enclosure 24 from the yard bag 22,air vents 36A-36D are positioned in the enclosure 24. In the preferredembodiment, where the enclosure 24 is a four-sided enclosure, thesevents 36A-36D are located in the four corners of enclosure 24. Thesevents 36A-36D, running the length of the enclosure 24, permit trappedair to escape when the enclosure 24 is being lifted out of the yard bag22.

It should be understood that these air vents 36A-36D could,alternatively, be located in the sides of the enclosure 24 also and arenot restricted to being located in the corners of the enclosure 24. Forexample, as shown most clearly in FIG. 4, wall vents 136A-136D also runthe length of the enclosure 24 and are located off-center of each wallso as to allow each vent to provide an air passageway from the bottom 23(FIG. 3)of the enclosure 24 to the top 27 of the enclosure 24 withoutpassing through the respective handle located in each wall.

Within the enclosure 24, the corners 38A-38D are rounded. This minimizesyard refuse, such as twigs or branches, getting lodged in the corners ofthe enclosure 24 which would occur if square corners were used.

Associated with the rigid enclosure 24 is a compactor 40. The compactor40 comprises a planar surface 42 and a handle 44. The planar surface 42also comprises rounded corners 46A-46D that correspond to the roundedcorners 38A-38D. As the enclosure 24/yard refuse bag 22 begins to fillup, the user grasps the compactor 40 with the handle 44 and appliespressure against the yard refuse with the planar surface 42 to compactthe yard refuse in the enclosure 24/yard refuse bag 22. To maximize thecompacting of yard refuse in the corners 38A-38D of the enclosure 24,the user can align one of the rounded corners 46A-46D with one of thecorners 38A-38D and press downward, thereby compacting yard refuselocated in the particular corner of the enclosure 24. Furthermore,during non-use, the compactor 40 can be stowed in the enclosure 24 bypositioning the handle 44 into one of the air vents; e.g., as shown inFIG. 4, the handle 44 is stowed in air vent 36A.

To use the liner 20, the user opens a yard refuse bag 22 and theninserts the enclosure 24 into the bag's 22 interior. The user thenthrows yard refuse into the interior of the enclosure 24. As fillingoccurs, the user can use the compactor 40 to compact thealready-collected yard refuse, thereby making more room for more yardrefuse. Furthermore, since the force of the compacting is distributedinto the walls of the enclosure 24 only, and not into the yard bag 22,the usual risk of tearing/ripping the bag during compacting is avoided.When the height of the yard refuse reaches a designated height, whichmay be indicated by a line or other indicia 50 (FIG. 3), the user graspsone of the pairs of handles (30A/30B or 32A/32B) and lifts the enclosure24 out of the yard bag 22.

The yard refuse bags 22 are typically heavy paper bags that areapproximately 32 inches in length by approximately 16 inches in width.Although the preferred embodiment liner 20 is designed for use with suchyard refuse bags 22, it is within the broadest scope of this inventionto include other types of trash bags (e.g., plastic trash bags). Whenusing a plastic trash bag with the liner 20, the upper portion of thetrash bag can be passed through an opposing pair of handles (30A/30B or32A/32B) and then knotted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the liner 20 can also be used with a conventionalriding lawn tractor 100 (e.g., a Sears Craftsman 20 hp deck lawntractor)for automatically filling refuse bags. Typically, riding lawntractors cut the grass and then the clippings are exhausted through ashoot that is connected to either two large rigid containers o-r burlapsacks. The containers or burlap sacks are then emptied by variousmethods of disposal. Typically, the filled containers or sacks aredumped out into a field, dumped into a wooded area, reloaded intoplastic bags that will not biodegrade, or reloaded into a paper yardwaste bag; however, the difficulty of loading the paper yard waste hasalready been described.

In contrast, the present invention 20 can be fastened in such a way inthe back of the lawn tractor that the grass clippings are directlyexhausted into the liner 20/refuse bag 22 combination. For example, abagger device attachment 100 (e.g., a two bin bagger model #24979 thatis sold as an accessory to the Sears Craftsman 20 hp deck lawn tractor)can be coupled to the tractor 100 and a plurality of liners 20/yardrefuse bags 22 positioned thereon. In particular, before mowing begins,the operator places each enclosure 24/yard refuse bag 22 onto a pan 104that is coupled to the tractor 100 via a hitch 105 and support member107. To prevent each liner 20/yard refuse bag 22 from possibly fallingoff the pan 104 during mowing, a rail mechanism 106 surrounds the upperportion of each liner 20/yard refuse bag 22; a hinged closure bar 108completes the rail mechanism 106 and can be releasably locked by a lock110 (e.g., wing nuts, brackets, etc.). A lawn cutting plenum 112 couplesthe grass shoot 114 of the tractor 100 to a hood 116, which directs thegrass cuttings into each of the liners 20/yard refuse bags 22.

Once the bags 22 are filled, the operator opens the lock 110 and opensthe closure bar 108. The operator can then move the liner 20/yard refusebag 22 onto the trash pick-up spot (e.g., curb-side) or can place theliner 20/yard refuse bag 22 onto a cart 120, as shown in FIG. 6. Ineither case, the operator then removes the liner 20 (or liners 20 wherea plurality of these are used) from the filled yard refuse bag 22 whichare now ready for collection. If the cart 120 is used, it can be wheeledto the trash pick-up spot and the filled bags 22 placed on the ground.The operator can then insert the liner 20 into a new yard refuse bag 22and place that combination back onto the pan 104 to collect more grasscuttings. The cart 120 can be used to store the liners 20 when not inuse. The cart 120 also includes a rail mechanism 206 that prevents thefilled enclosure 24/yard refuse bag 22 from falling off the cart 120during movement of the cart 120. The cart 120 also includes a hand grip122 to allow the user to move the cart 120.

Once picked up, the filled paper yard bags would not be brought to alandfill, where they would just add to the volumes of existing trash;instead, they are sent to biodegradable landfill, thereby savinglocalities and consumers thousands of dollars and thousands of taxpayers dollars as well.

It is also within the broadest scope of the invention to include the useof the liner 20 in offices and areas where waste paper, especially copy,e.g., a paper shredder, is collected in a conventional plastic trash bagwhich is then thrown in the trash and not re-cycled. In contrast, thetypical basket that holds the conventional plastic waste bag, can bereplaced with the liner 20/recyclable refuse bag 22. To be attractiveand pleasing to the eye in such a business setting, the color of theliner 20, as well as the recyclable refuse bag 22 itself, can be white;the refuse bag 22 can also include the well-known blue recycling emblemthereon so that the bag 22 is clearly identified as recyclable material.Once the liner 20/recyclable refuse bag 22 are filled with paper to apredetermined level, the normal recycling pick-up personnel can removethe liner 20, close the filled refuse bag 22 and install the liner backinto a new recyclable refuse bag 22. Alternatively, where paper is noteven shredded but is rather just discarded into a conventional plasticpaper bag, such paper can be placed into the liner 20/recyclable refusebag 22 at designated locations around the business.

Thousands and thousands of tons of paper could be re-used with thisrecycling method. Companies that recycle paper would benefittremendously and could even make improvements in their own methods ofrecycling with all the extra paper coming in. Other organizations likeGreen Peace would embrace its potential and even promote its use. Localgovernment laws could be enforced mandating copy paper recycling. Wasteland fills would be spared extra volumes of paper material that wouldhave normally ended up there; as a result, these filled paper recyclingbags 22 can then be sent to recycling plants to be reused or sent tospecial landfills that results in lower fees paid by localmunicipalities.

It should also be understood that the liner 20 can be made in differentsizes without deviating from the scope of the invention.

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference tospecific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the artthat various changes and modifications can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof.

1. An apparatus for facilitating the collection of yard refuse into ayard refuse bag, said apparatus comprising an elongated enclosure havingan open bottom and open top, said elongated enclosure comprising sidesand a plurality of air vents, each of said air vents forming apassageway contained in a corner joining two adjacent sides or containedin a side, said passageway having an opening disposed in said open topand an opening disposed in said open bottom of said elongated enclosure,said apparatus being adapted to be positioned inside the yard refuse bagand for supporting the yard refuse bag along its length during filling.2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said elongated enclosure is taperedalong a longitudinal axis such that the bottom of said enclosure iswider than the top of said enclosure.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein said air vents are aligned with a longitudinal axis of saidenclosure.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said enclosure comprisesat least two apertures near the top of said enclosure to form handles.5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said elongated enclosure comprisesplastic.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said plastic ispolyethylene.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said plastic is polyvinyl chloride.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said enclosurecomprises four sides.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said elongatedenclosure is tapered along a longitudinal axis such that the bottom ofsaid enclosure is wider than the top of said enclosure.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9 wherein said air vents are aligned with alongitudinal axis of said enclosure.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10wherein said air vents are positioned in each corner of said enclosure.12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of said corners are roundedinside said enclosure.
 13. An apparatus for facilitating the collectionof yard refuse into a yard refuse bag, said apparatus comprising anelongated enclosure having an open bottom and open top, said elongatedenclosure being tapered along a longitudinal axis such that the bottomof said enclosure is wider than the top of said enclosure
 14. Theapparatus of claim 13 wherein said enclosure comprises at least twoapertures near the top of said enclosure to form handles.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 13 wherein said elongated enclosure comprisesplastic.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said plastic ispolyethylene.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said plastic is polyvinyl chloride.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said enclosurecomprises four sides.